quick project

It's January, which means Napoleon and I are on our 6th month of living together. ...and I'm still not completely unpacked. ...and we still have an entire room in our condo that's not been touched. I don't really mind that much because we're still trying to figure out how to compromise our design and decor likes, and we've slowly been acquiring things that make us both happy. It's certainly a work in progress!

Today I decided it was time I unpacked my jewelery. I've been wearing the same cubic studs, bought from Claire's, every single day for the past 6 months. Not ok. So I took the opportunity while Napoleon was busy with a big recruiting weekend, to do a little project of my own.

Once again, the pictures aren't so hot. They were taken with my phone, in low lighting, but they will have to do!

Here's what I started with:

1. (2) 11x14 cork panels from Michael's
2. Scissors
3. Silver thumb tacks from Staple's
4. Grey fabric from Joann's
5. Picture frames from Michael's
6. Glue gun

The whole project took about half an hour to put together. I started by taking apart the picture frames, and throwing away the glass, matting, and the back. I really would recommend just getting a basic open back frame since they're cheaper, but I wanted to get the same frames that we have hanging in the rest of our bedroom.

I then cut the fabric so that it was a couple inches bigger than the cork all around, and then folded it over the cork and hot glued it to the back. I popped it all back into the frame, and that was it! The hardest part really was trying to figure out how to hang it. The cork I bought was so thick that I couldn't put the frame backing back on, and I was too impatient to wait until tomorrow to go to Home Depot to get a picture hanging kit. So I literally just took a few nails and nailed the frames to the wall through the cork. Not super cute, but I figured they'd get covered up by the jewelry eventually anyways.

Then came the fun of unmangling all of my jewelry from the giant ball they became while packed away! It was well worth the time though. Here's the completed project:

I have to say, there was no discussion about my plans with Napoleon, but I did warn him that I was going to do something with my jewelry. It certainly makes our bedroom more girly than he probably wanted, but I maintain it was necessary. Plus it fits in well with the rest of the room!